Who Are You?
by Laughinglizzie
Summary: "Twenty years of solitude knowing that he couldn't reach out to the one thing in this world keeping him sane. Grace. His Grace"
1. Chapter 1

Jefferson awoke in his bed the first thing he noticed was the strange wetness that surrounded him, he quickly checked under the covers making sure that the liquid was not pee, he had wet the bed on more than one occasion due to nightmares. When he deduced that the liquid was not his own urine he came to the simple conclusion that he had simply been sweating too much, which was fine all he needed to do was get up make himself some tea then go back to bed and try to get some more sleep. He got out of bed put on the slippers he kept by the bed and tried to get to the kitchen as quietly as he could, it wasn't exactly the easiest task to do even though the house he lived in was large and lavish it did have its fair share of creaky floorboards, and tonight was just bad luck for him that he hit every creaky floorboard.

He eventually stumbled his way into the kitchen darkness surrounding him, making sure he didn't turn on any lights he already had enough rumours about himself he didn't want any more people talking about the mysterious things he did at 3AM on the weekend. While waiting for the water to boil he reflected on his life and how he got to this point. Technically speaking Jefferson only got up in the middle of the night to calm himself of his nightmares which was a common thing, usually he had a cup of tea and went back to bed trying his hardest to forget the horrors he had seen in his dreams.

But he could never forget.

He'd try everything to forget but he never could, it had been about twenty years since a new set of memories popped into his head and nestled its way into his fragile mess of a brain.

Twenty years of solitude knowing that he couldn't reach out to the one thing in this world keeping him sane.

Grace.

She was the only thing he wanted in this bleak and cruel world but he couldn't have her, he should've never abandoned her, and he should've never trusted Regina.

This night was more curious then any other as Jefferson didn't exactly wake up due to his nightmares. He woke up because of a strange noise.

He woke up to an inhuman scream.

At first he thought it was him.

Some nights his madness would consume him, in his dreams and he would be placed back in Wonderland making hats for the queen of hearts trying to make the hat work. He would wake up screaming, kicking and flailing around in his bed not aware of his surroundings.

But this scream was different to his own.

This scream was unique it was inhuman but it wasn't an animal howling in the night, it was almost demonic even in the other lands he visited they didn't have anything that sounded like that, so Jefferson came to the conclusion that it was just him hearing things.

Then he heard it again.

It was louder this time piercing his eardrums and most likely cracking the glass around him, this scream was different it was more like a banshee as opposed to the demonic shrill he heard a couple of minutes ago.

Figuring that he was losing his mind (well losing more of it) he set it as his mission to figure out where the screaming was coming from, and even if it was nothing then at least he could get 5 minutes to himself outside in the dark.

So armed with nothing but his pyjamas and slippers, he set on his grand expedition to the outdoors to find out if the noise was real or if he lost enough sanity to the point where he was hearing things.

" _It's probably just me, no one ever comes up here apart from the occasional person asking for directions._ " He told himself trying to be reasonable in this terrifying situation.

He walked further out, it was at this point Jefferson was hoping that something interesting would happen, and he was not acting like a crazy person wondering out into the freezing night.

He then heard another startling scream.

It was surprisingly close to where he was. He began to pick up his pace walking in quick steps trying not to catch attention from anything. He spotted something in the distance in the middle of the road he couldn't make out anything, apart from a white splotch in the middle of the road.

It was at this point he began to regret not bringing a torch.

He made his way up to the white splotch, getting closer to it he did not find a horrible mess of an inhuman thing.

He instead found a person.

They were huddled in the middle of the street quietly sobbing, they sounded female but he couldn't be to sure due to the area being pitch black and the nearest streetlight being a good distance away. He made his way closer towards the person and approaching them more slowly, trying his best not to catch any attention from this person or scare them.

They screamed again.

Jefferson heard it for about a second before covering up his ears and backing away, hoping that after this person was done he would still be able to hear.

The person finally stopped screaming and Jefferson walked a little closer, his hand managed to find its way to their shoulder before he finally spoke up.

"Excuse me."

They quickly turned around to look at him.

"Do you need some assistance? Because it looks to me as though you require some help"

Their eyes lighted up a little, Jefferson noticed that the colour of their eyes was a bright yellow not the most common colour but when you travelled around different worlds you see all sorts of strange things.

They finally spoke up.

"Oh... I'm... Fine. Thanks for asking, I'll just leave and let you go back home."

As they spoke Jefferson finally found out that this person was female, her voice was hoarse as if it was a struggle to utter her last sentence.

"No you're not, you're in the middle of the street screaming and sobbing." He stood up to his full extent and extended his hand to her. "Please let me help you."

She looked at him and nodded, she took his hand and he led her down the sidewalk. He noticed as they were walking he had to support her and help with her steps along the way. They made it up to his mansion of a house, as they made their way up to his porch light he finally had a good look at the girl.

She was extremely pale and her skin practically reflected light, her hair was dirty looking like it had never been washed and it was matted and tangled beyond belief, he did notice the colour it was about as yellow as her eyes which looked hollow like she never really had a full nights rest, they looked up at him full of fear. She wasn't the definition of perfection but that didn't really bother him.

He unlocked the door and made their way inside. And that was when he noticed the biggest thing with her.

She was naked.

He quickly averted looking at the lower half of her body, his eyes quickly made their way back up to her face.

He decided to say something to try and avoid anything awkward.

"So... You do know that you're... Naked right?"

It was to late for that the situation was about as awkward as it could get.

She looked down as if her being butt naked was no big deal.

"Yeah I know, I just... Don't own any clothes."

"You don't?"

"No..." She swallowed back her sob. "I'm sorry if I'm freaking you out or something else, I can leave if you want me to."

She proceeded to open the door when Jefferson grabbed her arm.

"Don't go please! I don't want to go off on your own."

They looked at each in their eyes they both saw pain and suffering in their glances

"I want to help you so let me. Please."

She looked at him and a faint smile curled up to her lips.

"If you really want to then I don't think I can say no."

He smiled back at her.

"Great so then first things first," He clapped his hands and quickly looked at her. "A bath would most likely work for you, then I can finally get you some clothes I'll probably have to get you some of mine, I have no idea what kind of clothes I have around here or even if I have any others beside my own."

She smiled a little wider before quickly returning to her neutral face.

"I'm sorry, but before that happens I would love to know the name of the nice stranger who didn't chop me up into a million little pieces"

"I'm Jefferson," He replied back while leading her to the bathroom. "So I guess I need to know your name now?"

She gave him a sad smile and said.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what it is."

"How do you not know?"

They were both standing in the bathroom Jefferson was now drawing a bath for the mysterious woman in his house.

"I just don't... I really don't know anything about myself."

He looked at her with pity, even though he had two realities stuck in his head he at least had some semblance of who he was. Sure both set of memories weren't pleasant but he at least had them. This woman had nothing, she didn't even know who she was.

"Well I need to call you something, so can I give you a name?"

She looked at him with a curious expression before letting out a small laugh. "Sure, I guess giving me a name would be better than nothing at all."

Jefferson quickly went through all the names he could in his head then one popped up.

It was perfect.

" _Alice._ " He whispered.

"Hm?"

He let out a small sniff "Can I call you Alice? Is that okay?"

She looked back up with him before giving him a huge smile. "Yeah! That's great thank you... I would hug you right now but yeah... I'm naked."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Before I begin this chapter I just wanted to say that this is my first time ever making an OC, so I apologise if the character isn't up to standards, but lets hope they can be awesome.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Laughinglizzie.**

* * *

 _"I would hug you right now but yeah... I'm naked."_

They both exchanged laughter while the water filled the bathtub, as the water filled up to where Jefferson deemed appropriate and turned off the taps.

"So the bath is ready for you, if you need anything just call I'll be in the other room so you won't be disturbing me."

Her eyes became shifted around the entire room as she started pleading with him "Please don't leave me! I just need someone to keep me company."

He let out a long sigh before saying. "Sure, I can help you if you want me to."

"I never asked you to help me bathe, but I'm not arguing with that." She then gave him a soft smile as she climbed into the bathtub.

Jefferson grabbed a washcloth and began to help wash her, making sure he never looked too much at her lower half. He began to notice little things about her as she lifted up her arms and legs to wash them, mostly small scars and cuts around her wrists and ankles, he wanted to ask her about them but he ultimately decided not to he didn't want to seem rude and bombard her with questions, especially since she didn't remember anything about herself. Maybe she knew something about their real home, but most likely not. But if she appeared out of thin air she could possibly know something.

She finally decided to speak up, "Can I ask you a question?"

Jefferson quickly snapped back into reality, "Yeah, I guess you can."

"How long has it been?"

"What do you mean by that?" He questioned back at her, confused at she really meant.

"I mean how many years has it been? I just... Need to know."

Did she know? Has she always known? Jefferson decided to give her the truth, it seemed as though she might know something.

"It's been twenty years... Twenty years of pain and suffering in this hell."

She huddled up to her knees and hunched forward.

"Twenty years, maybe now I can finally know." She said in a barely audible whisper.

He heard the whisper and gave her a curious expression.

"Know what?"

That was when she finally gave away all the information he wanted to know.

"Know who I am, cursed life or not."

His mind instantly began racing with questions.

"You know about the curse?" he asked words stumbling out of his mouth, surprised he could make a tangible sentence.

"I know about it, I don't know why though doesn't really seem to serve a purpose because I don't remember who I was. Do you remember who you really are?"

Tears began to swell in Jefferson's eyes. He remembered his life before the curse and before Wonderland, his life with Grace.

"Yes," He sniffed "I've remembered everything for the past twenty years, I've had this knowledge stuck in my head, I've been trapped in this house completely alone repeating the same routine every day."

She held his hand and gave him a pitying look.

"I'm sorry I didn't know, maybe I shouldn't stay. Shit... I'm an idiot, seriously not a great move."

"No it's fine," He said as he wiped away a tear. "It's... Been a long time since I've talked to anyone, so it felt good saying something that wasn't just to myself."

He continued helping her wash down. He then began to work on her hair, he noticed that their was a small hair clip in her matted hair, he began to take it out when she backed away and screamed at him.

"NO DON'T TOUCH IT! YOU CAN'T TOUCH IT!"

Jefferson quickly let go of the hair clip.

He began to apologise to her, "Sorry I had no idea, I just need to get to your hair."

"You can get to my hair just don't touch the clip." She huffed.

Jefferson placed a dollop of shampoo in his hand and began to massage it into her scalp, his fingers getting caught in her tangled and matted hair. He looked at her neck and noticed a bunch of tiny scars around it.

Jefferson the felt his own scar wriggle around his neck.

"You noticed them didn't you?"

"Noticed what?"

"Don't play dumb," She growled "The scars on my body I know you've been gawking at them."

"You caught me I noticed them, now I want you to tell me about what happened to you."

"Fine, I'll tell you about it." She sighed "So you told me about how you've spent twenty years stuck in your house. Well the past twenty years for me have been a little different from yours. For the last twenty years I've been trapped in the darkness crying and pleading for help. Chained up by my wrists, ankles and neck trying to wriggle my way out and escape keeping every scar as I tried to escape, and finally taste freedom, and see a human face again. I never saw anyone, I didn't even see the sun or any other variant of light, so the explains my pale skin if you were wondering about that. So aren't you lucky, you're the first human face I've seen in the last twenty years." Her voice wobbled as if she was going to burst out crying at any second.

Jefferson's face was a twisted mess of shock and horror as all he could do was let out a little yelp.

She gave out a small sniffle. "Yeah I know not a fun place to be, least you had this huge house."

He gave out a small awkward chuckle before the room around them fell into silence. Jefferson was still working on her hair, there was a lot of it and his fingers kept getting caught on tangles.

"So hey, just to break this silence can I ask you another question?"

"Yeah sure, it's not like I can ignore the woman I'm helping to wash in my bathtub."

She let out a small giggle before asking, "How'd you get the scar around your neck?"

Jefferson let out a gasp as he sat there silent and motionless.

"I can still see you."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose "How did you notice it?"

She pointed to his neck and said, "You're not wearing anything to cover it up, so I've noticed it for a while, and since I told you about my scars I'd like to think that you would tell me."

Shit, now an explanation was in order, what was she going to think of him when he said it, Should he lie about it?.

"I was... Was... I got.." He gave out a long breath before finally spitting out. "I was beheaded by the Queen Of Hearts." The truth poured out, as he looked slightly ashamed of his past.

It looked as though something in her brain clicked, she finally sat up straight, her eyes shone as her one memory fitted into place.

"You were the stranger that got stuck in Wonderland, am I right?"

Jefferson shot up stunned at how she knew him.

"Yes. I guess I was."

"I remember you, well I'm pretty sure I do. You worked in the palace trying to make a hat, even though there were thousands in the room if I remember correctly. Gotta' say you're looking way better." A faint smile made its way to her lips.

"How do you know that?"

"I don't know I just do. That's about all I remember though, it's really weird."

"Sounds like some great memories. I can avoid those but that's the only memory you have."

The mood in the room dropped from sadness to anger. Jefferson quickly grabbed her hand warming up his own icy fingertips.

"It's not your fault none of it is, it's Regina's and I think it's time that we sort this mess out and pay her a little visit." Jefferson told her as he finished washing her hair.

She looked at him and gave him a huge smile.

"I seriously can't thank you enough. This is absolutely crazy that I didn't get murdered in the woods."

He gave her a small smile in return, as he released his hand from hers.

"It wasn't a problem. You can out of the tub now, you can wear any towel in here they're all clean, and I'll search through the house and see if I can find any clothes, if there's nothing around I guess I'll have to emerge into town for the first time."

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with gratitude as she placed a random towel around her body.

Jefferson exited the room hoping to find some clothes that would somewhat fit the mysterious woman in his house. This was turning out to be the strangest night of his life. He searched throughout his room hoping to find something she could wear. Eventually after rummaging through all his drawers he settled on an oversized tee-shirt and a pair of silk boxers at the back of one of his drawers. She was just going to have to wear this until they went out to take care of a few errands, he made his way back to the bathroom to give her the clothes.

"Here take these they probably won't fit but they're all I have, but we'll get more when we go out, but for now just put them on and I'll make some tea." Jefferson gave her a small smile and left her alone in the bathroom to put on her clothes.

He made his way back to the kitchen for the second time that evening, he grabbed the kettle that he used the first time in the kitchen and started to boil the water again. His mind drifted between thoughts of Storybrooke, Wonderland and Grace.

He wanted her back more than anything.

 _Get it to work._


	3. Chapter 3

_Get it to work._

She put on the clothes that she received and proceeded to find the kitchen, her only hint was the sound of water boiling in the kettle, she found her way to the kitchen only to spot Jefferson standing there completely unaware of his surroundings, even when she gave a fake cough he didn't notice her or acknowledge the sound she made. She didn't really want to touch him. he could start panicking or something worse.

"Excuse me." She held up her hand and waved it in front of his face. "Anybody home?" she placed her hand closer to his face trying to snap out whatever he was thinking about.

"I would love to have a conversation with the man currently BROODING IN THE KITCHEN." She raised her voice at him still getting no response from him the sound of the kettle whistling filled the eerie silence, she decided to take drastic measures, she slapped him across the face the sound of her hand hitting his face echoed around the room.

"No! Please! I can make it work just give me more time. Please!"

Alice slowly backed away, she had no idea how to deal with this she was in no way prepared for what she just witnessed. This guy who she barely just met was now having an attack of some sorts, whether it was due to anxiety, or if he was having a more slightly terrifying psychotic episode. He was looking at the room like it was an unfamiliar place he also held a slightly manic glint in his eyes.

This was the hatter she remembered.

Ideas were racing through her mind, different plans on how to help him as she slowly inched her way forward. But she couldn't think of anything that could help him cease his strange behaviour.

She didn't want to.

Not again.

By the time she realised what she was doing her hand had already come into contact with his skin.

"You slap really hard." He told her placing his hand where she slapped him.

She gave him a huge smile as she started crying and gave him a small hug.

Jefferson was slightly confused but he still accepted the hug, it made him feel like he had something to care about other than his family.

"I was super scared, please don't do that again!" She sniffed, as her head nuzzled into Jefferson's chest.

"Do what? What are you so concerned about?" He asked, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her away from his chest.

"Don't become the man you once were, the person that Wonderland made you." She started crying again.

"Ssh, hey it's okay" He tried to comfort her as he pulled her back into a hug. "I'm okay now. I haven't changed"

She looked up at him and nodded there was a hint of child like innocence in her gaze, she finally let go of him and she had a small smile on her face as she spoke. "So... You gonna do something about that annoying whistling? Or are we going to have to listen to it until the the end of time?"

Oh.

Throughout their entire exchange the kettle had been whistling in the background neither one of them pointed it out.

Until now.

"You know I was just going to leave the kettle whistling, it's like music to my bleeding ears." He rolled his eyes as he prepared tea for the both of them, she stared at him while he made the beverage.

* * *

They took their cups and she followed him to a large living area, where they sat themselves onto separate couches.

"So what is up with that hair-clip?"

"What's up with your freak-out in the kitchen?"

"You first, I need to know what the heck is up the it."

"Is something wrong with it?"

"Nothing's wrong with it but-"

"But what?"

"Why'd you start screaming when I touched it?"

She gripped the cup tightly. "Bad things tend to happen when it's removed."

"Great. More questions to ask Regina." He huffed

"I'm super confused, who the hell is Regina?"

"She's our lovely mayor in this quiet town." He gave her a broken smile. "She's the evil witch that left me in Wonderland."

"You say this like it's totally normal and not incoherent ramblings of someone stuck in their own delusion."

"But it's all true, you believe me too so saying that makes you seem a little hypocritical." He scoffed.

"I'm just pointing it out." She took a breath before saying, "When are we meeting her?"

"Who?"

"Regina." He gave her a confused look. "The person you were just talking about. You know the 'evil witch'"

"Oh! right, soon very soon by the look of things." He told her both of them looking out the window to watch the sun rise.

"It's so pretty!" She exclaimed her eyes were wide like a child's, Alice climbed out of her seat and pressed her nose right against the window.

Jefferson chuckled at the over-reaction of a simple sunrise.

"Is this your first time seeing a sunrise or something?" He asked picking up the cups and heading towards the kitchen.

"I've seen them I am aware of the outside world and the beauty it holds. Its been a long time since I've seen these things in person though." She explained giving him a playful smile while doing so.

"Now it's your turn to answer my question." She said still looking out the window.

"And that is?"

"The freak-out in the kitchen, talking about how you'll get something to work, I would like like to know the reasoning behind the episode."

"It was really nothing it's just." He paused for a moment, "Wonderland is a really awful place."

"Seems like a boring place rather then awful." She gave him a playful smirk, "I mean I don't blame you for making all those hats, seems like the only entertaining thing to do there."

"You seem abnormally happy for someone whose been left alone and forgotten about for the last twenty years." He stated, wanting to change the subject and bury his memories down for now.

"Call it what you want me personally, I would describe it as 'masking real emotions' but hey that's just me."

They spent the rest of their time trying to make small talk, they were saving the bigger questions for Regina. This was a mystery that was near impossible to solve without outside help, Jefferson was bound by his knowledge and still he remembered nothing about this woman, and she couldn't remember anything about herself. But Regina would know, she has to know, she brought everyone here for a reason.

* * *

"So how are we getting there?" She asked him from the outside his bedroom.

"Like how are we getting to town and that?"

"Yeah."

"I have a car but no knowledge in how to use it, so I guess the best choice would be to walk, I have no idea how long that will take, and I'm already wasting enough time trying to get everything in order so we can run some errands after the visit."

"You're not wasting time because time is practically dead here." She pointed out.

"Okay wrong wording, how about I'm wasting the day as I'm trying to get things prepared?"

"That's better, makes more sense now."


	4. Chapter 4

Jefferson opened the door to his bedroom, he was wearing what he usually wore, which included black jeans, a formal grey shirt with a black vest and to cover up his scar a Gray cravat which was tied expertly around his neck. Alice backed away from him slightly shocked by his appearance before giggling.

"What? Is something wrong?" he checked his outfit making sure that his fly was undone or something equally embarrassing.

"You look great, I jest never expected you to wear something like that it's so... formal." She said before giggling again.

"And you're okay with what you're wearing? You don't want some shoes or something?" He asked eyeing her up and down, she was still wearing what he gave her and it wasn't exactly the thing people wore proudly in public, her hair was also a tangled mop, granted it was clean now, but it was still unbelievably messy.

"It's okay." She reassured him, "and anyways I'm not naked, so it's a step up."

"Well then shall we go?" He asked holding out his arm for her to grab.

"We shall, I hope this works." She grabbed his arm and he led her to his door, as they stepped out both of them filled with hope.

The walk into town was longer than both of them anticipated it to be, but the surrounding woods was very beautiful and was a nice change of scenery for the both of them. When they finally made it into town people made it their job to stare at the pair at them, Jefferson knew he wasn't really grabbing too much attention, people were mostly staring at Alice, because, lets face it it's not everyday in which you see a woman barefooted and in men's boxers.

"So do you know where the mayors office is?"

"Yes, it should be around here."

"Are you sure that she remembers?"

" _Yes_ , she came to visit me when the curse first arrived."

"What happened?"

"Not now I'll tell you some other time."

Jefferson finally made his way to the mayors office making it his job to push past anything that even remotely got in his way. He finally stood face-to-face with Regina the woman who had taken his happy life and turned it into a living hell, but he wasn't here for himself, he was there for the woman he now called Alice.

"Jefferson, you're looking well finally decided to leave the house? Or are you here to call me an evil witch like the last time you saw me?" Regina asked keeping her calm demeanour but still looking shocked by his sudden visit.

"Cut the crap Regina, I'm not here for a pleasant chat." He spat.

"Then why are you here?" She said giving him a cold smile

"I'm here for answers." Jefferson announced, "About her." he pulled the woman from behind his back, she stayed calm keeping her ground Regina on the other-hand lost her composure, she lost the colour from her face, her eyes were growing wider by the second and her jaw might have also dislocated.

 _You_. Regina mouthed.

"Who is she Regina?"

She quickly pulled herself together and told him "How would I know Jefferson? This is the first time I've seen her. Does this have something to do with your fantasies about this curse nonsense? You have been taking your medication? I would hate to see you have another relapse."

Jefferson's eyes narrowed at Regina before the young woman finally spoke up "I don't think this has anything to do with him, if you want to criticise him then go ahead I can't stop you. But if we're going to make this trip worthwhile then I would like you to explain if you've ever come into contact with me at all."

Regina finally turned to look at the woman she walked up to her heels clicking with confidence "I'm not telling you shit, you worthless creature." She hissed in her ear, "Now if you two don't mind leaving I have work to."

Alice straightened her stance making it obvious to everyone in the office that she wasn't moving.

"No."

Regina ignored her turning her attention to Jefferson, "If the pair of you aren't leaving then humour me Jefferson." Her entire expression then seemed to change it looked more hateful then before."Where did you find it?"

"I found _her_ the middle of the street screaming and sobbing, I took her back to my house where she claimed she was suffering from memory loss surrounding who she was, then it was brought to my attention that she had been chained up for who knows how long. Good enough explanation?"

"Jefferson," Regina's tone changed to a more professional one, "You are fully aware of the fact that from what you just told me. You found a woman suffering from amnesia, and you didn't think to take her to a hospital or at least call someone?"

"I didn't come here for you to question me about the choices I've made, I'm here for answers." His jaw stiffened wanting Regina to answer the god damn question so he could leave.

"Who is she?"

"I've never seen her before in my life. Now get out before I call someone to make you."

"Gladly." He quickly grabbed the young woman by the arm and lead her out towards the town.

* * *

They made their way back into town. Both of them silent, unhappy with everything that just happened in the office.

"Why was she talking about you so rudely in there?" Alice asked finally breaking the silence between them.

"I know that there's a curse here, no one else does they just go about living their life completely unaware of the fact that their entire life is fake. So when I try to explain it to others they can just simply dismiss me as crazy."

"Then why did she call me worthless in there?"

"She called you that?"

Alice nodded, "Yeah she whispered it in my ear."

Jefferson's face turned into a subtle shade of red, "I should've known better than to take you to see her, it's all my fault I thought maybe she would give you some answers but she's clearly too hateful to do that."

She tried giving him a comforting smile, "It's not your fault but you're right about her being really hateful., I still want to remember but I guess I'll have to try doing it on my own."

"This town doesn't seem that helpful, full of people living repetitive lives. So if you're going to find out more about yourself then I guess you'll need some help with that."

"Are you seriously volunteering to help me?"

"I guess, would you accept it?"

She gave him a smirk, "Yes I do I accept your help. So what are we doing walking down the street?"

"We're going to get you clothes of course."

"Seriously? can you afford it?"

"Have you seen the house I live in?"

She rolled her eyes, "No, never seen it in my life."

"Ha, ha very funny."

* * *

They made their way to a random clothing store, both of them stood in the doorway both of them confused as they stared at the displays. Posters of woman in their underwear and bras all around the store, Alice stared down at her own body she was nothing like the woman on the poster, she noticed her breasts were nothing special and her body was quite normal looking, there was nothing about her body that really stood out. They walked deeper into the store looking at the wide variety of bras.

"Hi there, can I help you?"

They both turned around to revel the face of a saleswoman, she was bright and chipper despite the sight she saw.

They both looked at each other wondering who would utter the first sentence.

"Yes! I believe that we require some kind of assistance," Jefferson finally spoke up, "You see my friend here is in need of some more... Garments and I think some help from a professional such as yourself would really help us with this endeavour."

Alice was amazed at what she just witnessed, he spoke with such formality that it even freaked out the saleswoman, her face was subtlety surprised.

"Ok... I can help you with that just let me grab my things so I can measure your friends bust"

She quickly left the two of them alone, only to return back with some measuring tape, after she measured the young woman's bust she gave her the correct bra size so they wouldn't be blindly trying things on.

"I think you freaked her out. Seriously I've never seen anyone pull off that kind of face."

"It's called having manners, and if I freaked her out with talking, then you freaked her out with what you're wearing."

"Says the man who looks like he was violently ripped from the Victorian era." She mumbled.

They picked out a few bras before making their way for underwear.

"So I have no idea how to do this, I'll just grab some that I think will fit, you pay the lady, then we leave, deal?"

"Deal."

Alice then quickly grabbed whatever she thought would fit her, they made their way up to the cash register paid for everything and quickly left.

* * *

"So where to next?"

Her thoughts quickly disappeared when they rounded towards the clock tower, time was still frozen.

8:15 like it always said.

"You know she's here right?"

Jefferson turned to look at the young woman who was still staring at the clock tower.

"Who's here?"

She turned to look at him, her pupils that were once big and bright were now fairly small, her eyes were so glossed over they were practically dead to the entire world.

"Somewhere in the most remote part of this little town there's a woman, when the curse breaks she'll be a very valuable item to help take down the queen."

He was clearly confused by her actions, was she actually being serious?

"Who are you talking about?"

"You know who I'm talking about."

"How do you know about this?"

Wasn't she suffering from amnesia less than a minute ago?

"I know more than just that." She hissed in his ear.

"Like what?"

"You'll have to figure out that on your own, seriously can't be giving out free bits of knowledge to just anybody."

She quickly brushed past him and started walking away, Jefferson quickly followed behind her noticing that she was holding something small in her hand.

They made their way through the town. Finally after minutes of walking she finally stopped dead in her tracks with no warning at all and still in a pretty busy part of town. She turned to look at Jefferson and she explained to him.

"There are other things in this town many mysteries, people, places even the forest hold secrets you couldn't begin to imagine."

"Do you know about them?"

"How could I not?" She questioned back at him. "Strange towns have strange histories and even stranger people in it, I'll leave it at that for now."

He took a step back utterly confused by her explanation it didn't make any sense. That's when he noticed a small change in her appearance, her hair clip wasn't in, he quickly remembered how hysterical she became when anybody came in close contact with it. He already knew this wasn't a good sign.

"Alice," He said slowly making his way towards her, "What happened to your hair clip?"

She looked at him with her dead eyes, "You noticed!" She gasped sarcasm dripping with each word, "I thought it was time for a little change," She joked, "Mostly you men never notice."

"Then where is it?" He asked.

"Where do you think it is Sherlock? Whoops sorry that wasn't you now was it?" She told him in the most condescending tone possible, she opened up her hand to reveal to hair clip in it.

"Can I have it please?" He asked.

"For when your kid finally wakes up?" She questioned back, her eyebrow arched and her arms crossed.

Wait...

He never told her about Grace.

Jefferson nodded back at the woman, she smiled and gave it to him.

"I know what you're planning so go ahead and do it, I'll come back, but for now have your fun." She softly whispered in his ear.

He gulped and held the hair clip in his hand before placing it in her hair.


	5. Chapter 5

She closed her eyes and collapsed onto the pavement.

Did he kill her?

He he knelt down and held onto her unconscious body, he didn't want to lose anyone else, he already lost so much his mind couldn't handle another one.

He sat there with her body, waiting. People walked by and stared, they didn't offer any assistance why should they? It wasn't their obligation to help her.

"What happened?"

He heard her whisper and looked over, she looked like she was going to burst into tears.

"You took off the hair clip." He told her.

She looked at him, the sadness on her face quickly turned to panic instead. "Was anybody hurt, did anything happen at all?"

"Nobody was hurt, although you did freak me out quite a bit."

She quickly brushed off the events that just took place and gave him a playful smile. "Told ya bad things happen when I take it off."

He gave a quick chuckle before giving her a sad smile, she gave him an awkward smile back.

"Do you want to get back to what we were doing? or is kneeling on the street smiling at me good enough for you?"

Jefferson quickly shook his head trying to forget the memories that plagued him, "Yeah better get back to that." He replied before she took his arm and he led her down the street.

* * *

They made it to another clothing store neither of them acknowledging the events that took place before. Jefferson just wanted to get back to his house. He couldn't stand to see everyone like this living a life where they don't know who they really are, but he looked at Alice her warm smile and her childish expression it made him glad he found her. She may not remember anything about herself but she had something about her that made him determined to find out more about her.

"So, If I'm supposed to be seen around with you do you want me to dress like I'm a rich stranger? Or as a normal person so I don't catch too much attention?" She asked him going through her possible wardrobe options.

"Pick out whatever speaks to you, remember I'm paying so the cost isn't an issue." He replied looking at the clothes tailored towards children, his mind wondering to what clothing his daughter would like in this world.

"What are you staring at?"

Jefferson turned around to see Alice with an armful of clothes and a confused expression on her face.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about how much my daughter would love these clothes." He explained to her tears blurring his vision.

"Wait," She still gave him a confused look, "You have a daughter?"

Didn't she already know this?

He held back his tears, "Yes I do Grace, but here she's called Paige she was the one thing I cared about before and after the curse took place. My only reason to live."

"Does she remember you?" She asked

Jefferson simply shook his head "She doesn't remember me, and I can't do anything about it."

"I'm so sorry, and I'd hate to change the subject, but could you hold these for me?" She asked slightly embarrassed by what she said, not really wanting to break up this emotional moment.

"Yeah sure." He replied.

She then handed him a pile of clothes making sure she didn't drop anything. Jefferson noticed that the clothes she had handed him were varied, going from simple shirts and jeans, to dresses fit for any formal occasion.

"So is this everything?" He asked her, feeling like he was barley audible through the giant pile of clothing.

"Yeah that's pretty much it, I've just gotta' grab some socks and shoes, that okay?" She replied back from the other side of the small store.

"Yeah sure." He said back.

She finally made her way back to Jefferson. They made their way up to the front, the cashier was a little surprised by the odd pair, the man looking very formal, and his female companion looking like she had just gotten out of bed and never got changed. So it wasn't really a surprise to him when it was mostly female clothing that the pair was buying. The couple didn't cause any trouble, they paid for their clothes and left. The cashier took a double-take when they left making sure what he was seeing was actually the truth.

* * *

They left the store both relieved that they finally had nearly everything in order. Jefferson instructed Alice to go into one of the public restrooms and put on some of the clothes they had just purchased. She took a handful and made her way into the restroom. Jefferson stood outside and waited getting lost in his thoughts, events in the past replaying in his head, wondering whether or not he could really trust those memories. When Alice finally did step out of the rest room she looked like a different person, she was wearing simple clothes, a black shirt with jeans and sneakers, they were very simple, but she managed to pull off the simple look very well.

"So, I look more normal right?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm pretty certain that you won't get stared down anymore" He told her.

She quickly put the other clothes in one of the bags before heading down the street. Alice was fidgeting with her top before she suddenly sighed.

"Who knew that bras were super annoying." She pouted before finally giving up with whatever she was doing.

"What? Is it to tight or something?" He asked, not really wanting to further the conversation but doing it anyway.

"No it's just... Annoying. Did woman in the magic land have to wear these?"

Jefferson chuckled at her comment before replying with, "I don't know, but judging by Regina's plunging necklines back then, I doubt that they were a needed thing."

Alice gave him a big smile before staring at everyone around them.

"So, do you know anyone around here?"

"I know nearly everyone, doubt they'll know me though."

"Why?"

"Ask anyone around here, and I'm pretty sure they'll give you a solid answer." He replied back, fighting an eye roll.

"I will then, be right back." She smiled, before marching her way up to one of Storybrooke's many lost citizens. He was surprised that she had this amount of confidence, for some reason throughout their shopping trip whenever someone asked them if they needed some help she looked scared, so it was surprising to see her talk to someone she had possibly never seen or met. Jefferson couldn't quite make out what she was saying, except for when she pointed towards his mansion and the person nodding. When she finally did come back she was holding a giant smile before finally bursting into laughter.

"What?"

She looked but at him tears rolling down her cheeks before gaining some composure.

"So, they basically called you a crazy loner." She tried saying holding in her laughter, before finally laughing uncontrollably.

Jefferson started to rub her back in an attempt to stop her laughter.

"Calm down would you? It's not that funny." He mumbled.

"I'm sorry," She wheezed finally stopping, "It's just funny to me."

"Well then, I guess you're easily amused."

"You know it." She smiled.

* * *

They walked down the street Jefferson explained to her who the people he knew were in the past, and she listened and hanged onto every word he said, she never looked at him like he was crazy as everyone else did, instead she looked at him like a friend telling someone an amazing tale. Her eyes lighted up as he explained the tales he knew, her eyes were so child-like no matter how much pain she'd been through she kept an amazingly positive attitude. They were walking back to the house when she spotted a children's playground, Alice's eyes lighted up as she ran towards the playground, Jefferson quickly followed her. He made his way to the playground where he found Alice going down the slide in childish glee, he smiled at her before making his way down to a bench and sitting down with all the bags. He noticed the other children and the strange looks they were giving Alice, it wasn't entirely undeserved she was a grown woman playing in a children's playground. That's when he noticed another child walking down, she seemed strangely familiar to him.

It was Grace.

Jefferson had completely forgotten that she went to the playground occasionally on weekends, he wanted to grab Alice and leave. But instead he didn't he just sat back and watched the events unfold in front of him.

He watched Alice move for his daughter as she went down the slide, Alice looked at him and waved, he waved back and she went back to playing but his daughter came up to her, and it looked as if she was asking a question, his daughter was pretty direct with people most of the time. Alice looked happy as she laughed at what his daughter said, they both shook hands. Alice then walked up to him and said:

"Jefferson, you're never going to believe who I was talking to!"

"My daughter. My _cursed_ daughter if we're being exact here."

Alice's big smile dropped slightly.

"Y'know guessing games are more fun when you actually play along."

"And life's more worthwhile when you actually age."

He got her there.

"So, can I go and play still? or is this encounter just to difficult for you?" She asked.

"Have fun, maybe then you can tell me how my daughter is doing." He said looking down at his shoes.

* * *

Alice made her way back towards the playground towards Paige, she smiled at her before Paige asked her a question,

"Who was that man you were talking to?"

Alice's heart broke a little for Jefferson, the fact that your own child didn't know who you were.

"He's a friend, he's trying to help me so I can remember who I am." She explained.

Paige's eyes widened a little before she asked, "You don't remember who you are?"

Alice laughed and replied, "No I don't, so he's going to help me to regain my memory, or see if anyone knows me, so I'm hoping someone will know me."

Paige looked up at Alice and smiled at her, before asking another question, "Is he your boyfriend?"

"No," she laughed, "I think he's too busy focusing on other things before he would ever notice me. And anyway I think he would have much more class than dating a memory impaired woman." She explained making stupid faces throughout her entire explanation.

Paige laughed at the woman's ridiculous faces, "Have you ever had a tea party Alice?"

"No I haven't Paige, although I have found out recently that I do like tea."

Alice looked back at Jefferson, who was shifting around uncomfortably looking down at the grass below him.

"You should have them they're really fun! And you're never to old to have your first tea party. I know my dad loves having tea parties with me."

That must really hurt Jefferson.

"Can I invite friends?"

"Sure, that's the fun of it all."

"Thank you Paige for the amazing idea, I'll be tea partying in the near future."

"You're welcome Alice."

They both shook hands, and Alice made her way to Jefferson.

* * *

"Get your best suit ready Jefferson we're having a tea party." She exclaimed.

Jefferson shot his head up in confusion, "What?"

"Well, I was talking to your cursed daughter, and long story short I want to have a tea party with you." Alice explained her eyes pleading for him to agree.

"When do you want to do this?"

"Tomorrow."

"You really want to have one with me?"

"Yes, now do you accept my invitation or not?"

"Fine, I accept your invitation"

"Good, now can we go please? I'm totally exhausted, being a grown woman in a children's playground is hard." Alice complained.

"Fine." Jefferson said as they walked away from the playground, and back towards his house.

* * *

Alice was told by Jefferson to pick any room she wanted, so that was her mission for now she walked through the house looking through all the bedrooms, they were all beautiful but they never spoke to her, she finally found one that did, it was fairly simple she had no idea why she liked it but she did. Alice set her clothes down on the floor and looked around the room, it was perfect for her, a nice small space where she could collect her thoughts.

This was surely a new experience for her, spending the day outside, and in public making herself known to the other members of the town, and not being chained up barely able to breathe between the sobs and pleas. Her hope in finally seeing the outside world once again had finally been fulfilled. Things were changing, and the why hadn't been answered yet, but that didn't really matter. If Alice never had to spend another day sobbing her lungs out it was perfect in her eyes.

Alice spent some time exploring the large house, looking in every room, this house had pretty much everything every activity you could wish for. That's when Alice found the most puzzling thing in the house, a big square, she stared at it for what seemed like forever, wondering what it did and how to work it.

That's when Jefferson walked into the room, muttering about something she couldn't quite comprehend, she quickly grabbed his arm and pointed to the device, he gave her a confused look.

"What? Do you need help with the television?"

She nodded, "How does it work?"

He gave a quick smile before making his way up to the television, he turned the power on making the picture appear. Alice walked up to the device and stared at it, she turned around and gave Jefferson a very childish smile.

"Haven't you ever seen a T.V before?" He asked.

She shook her head, "Not that I can remember, you might want me to remind you." She pointed to the scars around her neck.

A wave of blood made its way to Jefferson's cheeks as he started to blush. Alice looked at him and began to laugh.

"No need to be embarrassed." Her attention quickly turned to the television getting caught up in the lights and colours. Jefferson sat down near her, keeping his thoughts to his hats but he put off the making them for a later date. For now he sat there staring at Alice, he wanted to grab her and never let go, comfort both of them making the pain stop even if it was for a little while.

"Is something wrong?" Alice asked as she climbed onto the same couch Jefferson was on.

"It's nothing," He sniffed, "Just getting caught up in thoughts." He said as he tried to muster up a smile.

She smiled back at him as she continued to focus on the T.V, making sure nothing else could take away her attention.

Jefferson stared down at Alice, her knees huddled into her chest staring at the television. The afternoon sun pouring in through the window reflecting off her sickly pale skin, her hair was still a tangled mess, every feature of her body was being burned into his eyeballs, so he could never forget them. This mystery of a woman was now becoming somewhat important to him, and he hadn't even known her for a full day. She had something about her that reminded him of his late wife, he certainly didn't want those memories hanging in the back of his mind, and yet for some reason he still wanted her around, maybe he just wanted to see another human face and not feel so alone or helpless.

"You know it's funny," Alice spoke up her attention still on television, "You don't seem to remember me, but yet I remember you."

Jefferson looked at her, "I don't really remember anything about Wonderland, apart from the slow descent into madness from that place."

 _And Alice_ he thought.

Alice looked at Jefferson her eyes burning with curiosity, "Did Wonderland drive you mad?"

Jefferson gave out a long sigh and rubbed his eyeballs before answering, "Yes it did."

* * *

 **AN: I guess I should do a chapter on who my OC was before the curse.**

 **So, look out for that.**

 **Until next time,**

 **LaughingLizzie.**


	6. Chapter 6

_As he was lead out Jefferson wriggled his way free of the guards grasp, he turned to the direction of the queen and started to slowly walk towards her, he then gave out a deranged laugh that rung throughout the court._

 _"Pardon me, but before I leave I'd love to tell you something." He told the court, the guards quickly interrupted by grabbing his arms and dragging him away._

 _"I'm having a tea party later on, and it would be most pleasant if you all join me." Jefferson smiled before the guards dragged him completely out of view._

 _The guards lead him back to his room in which he could resume his work, but he heard a click behind him, and sure enough when he checked the door it was locked._

 _It didn't matter._

 _He just needed to get the hat to work._

* * *

 _"Did you see the guy that the queen just saw? Oh man was he a nutter!"_

 _Jefferson ignored the voice assuming that he was just hearing things. He didn't have the time to respond to voices in his head, he needed to make the hat work._

 _"I came all the way to this horrible place for you and I don't even get a 'hi?' Who ever taught you manners?"_

 _"Mostly people never start an introduction with an insult." Jefferson told the voice still focused on his work._

 _"You got me there," the voice said, "so how about we start this whole exchange again?"_

 _"Sure, if that's what it takes for you to leave me alone so I can do my work in peace." He said setting his scissors and fabric down._

 _"Ok lets start, I'm behind you by the way." The voice whispered right in his ear._

 _He turned around to see a fairly strange sight. A woman stood right in front of him, the first thing he noticed was her eyes, they were a fairly bright colour of yellow, the same colour of her hair which flowed down her shoulders and down her back. Her lips were a deep shade of purple, she was wearing a sequinned black halter necked dress which was slit up her entire left leg, she wore a pair of matching red heels with green fishnet stockings, which was paired by fishnet gloves with a lace trim of the same colour._

 _Before Jefferson could say anything she quickly spoke up._

 _"So I'm speaking to Jefferson right?"_

 _"Ye- yes," he stuttered, "how do you know me?"_

 _"I knew you were the guy who travelled around using a magic hat, I never needed your services so we never met, still knew you though I think it was through Regina. So one day I actually wanted to meet you, I asked Regina where I could find you, she told me that you were 'no longer in this world' and I knew about your hat and I knew Regina had it. So I'm currently borrowing it without her knowledge. Basically to sum up this story, I've been travelling around a bunch of worlds trying to meet you, and now I have. By the way don't even think about stranding me here." She explained._

 _"Why did you want to see me?" He asked._

 _"Curious about the man behind the hat and I am not disappointed," She stated, "you still having that tea party?"_

 _"No time. I've no time to do things like that"_

 _"And here I was expecting a welcoming conversation. Queens sure done a number on your head hasn't she?"_

 _"I don't have time for this." Jefferson said through gritted teeth._

 _"How long have you been here for?"_

 _Jefferson ignored her question picking up his scissors again._

 _"'I don't know how long it's been, time moves differently here.'" She said trying her best to impersonate him._

 _"Look you've met me. Now if you don't mind could you please leave?" He asked trying to remain focused on his work._

 _"Can't," she said pointing towards the door, "you see that? It's locked and the guards might be looking for me."_

 _"What?"_

 _"You can never really make it through this place without being wanted at some point, but you would already know this."_

 _"How did you know I was here?"_

 _"Apparently the topic of the beheaded hatter in Wonderland is very popular."_

 _"How long have you been here?"_

 _"Like I impersonated you saying, time moves WAY differently here so I have no idea," she paused for a second before giving a small smirk, "is it actually true that you're mad?"_

 _"Listen!" He shouted, "I don't have time for this! I need to get a hat to work and get back home to my daughter."_

* * *

 _"Can you really make the hat work?"_

 _Jefferson turned around the woman had finally stopped talking to him, and now she was talking about this while looking at the hats scattered on the floor._

 _"I need to make it work."_

 _"But needing it to work and making it work are two different things, and you'd think after gods knows how many attempts any sane person would've given up by now, but you've clearly been pushed off the cliff of sanity and now you're swimming in the seas of madness, alone no one caring abo-"_

 _"SHUT UP!" He screamed his face buried in his knees slowly rocking himself, "I'm. Not. Mad."_

 _"Then what are you?"_

 _"Desperate," he sniffed, "I want my daughter back. I just want to be happy with her."_

 _"Everybody just wants to be happy but sometimes we don't get those happy endings." She said standing in front of him._

 _"Do you ever think we'll get those happy endings?"_

 _"Happy endings are for people who deserve it," she paused for a second, "you deserve one."_

 _"And you?"_

 _She gave a laugh as though she was trying to hide away her sadness, "I had the chance once at my own happy ending it didn't work though."_

 _Jefferson looked up from his knees, "what happened?"_

 _"The one person that I felt ever loved me died and I kept on living, these things happen. Unlike you I never had children."_

 _"There's another reason why you came here wasn't it?"_

 _"Maybe I just came here to crush the hopes of a madman," she whispered, "or maybe I just wanted somebody to actually listen to me for once."_

 _She started to walk away when Jefferson finally stood up and grabbed her hand._

 _"The door's locked."_

 _"Not a problem," she said, "thanks for your time Jefferson, if you ever make your way back to the Enchanted Forest then I'll say hi."_


	7. Chapter 7

"JEFFERSON!"

He turned over and ignored the voice.

"Wake up!"

He opened his eyes and saw Alice standing over his body, which was sprawled all over the couch.

"You're finally awake, you were really out of it. I need to ask you a really important question."

"What?" He groaned, that dream he had just seemed too real.

It was just a dream.

Wasn't it?

"Do you have a cookbook around?"

"Why do you want to know?" He asked sitting up from the couch.

"I dunno maybe I want to cook something, and I have no idea how to make it, so I require instructions through written means."

"They're around somewhere, you're just going to have to find them."

"Thanks for all the help." Alice said dryly before leaving the room.

Jefferson got up from the couch and headed towards the window a warm morning glow shone through the window and warmed his skin. He noticed he was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, he decided to take a shower then get changed, as he let Alice search for a cookbook.

* * *

"You'd think the guy would've organised his stuff by now." Alice mumbled to herself as she searched through another pile of books.

"Even labelling things would be kind of helpful."

She mumbled all the ways that Jefferson could've organised his belongings.

"Colour coding would look good, and it would be practical."

Looking through all the dusty books Alice wondered if Jefferson had read any of them, he had the time to do it. Flipping through another book she had pulled off the shelf, she made a mental note to read these at some point.

"I'm here to find a cookbook, not a steamy romance novel." She muttered to herself as she placed another book back onto the shelf.

She just left the room, searching for another one with piles of books in them. When she bumped into something warm and a little squishy, she looked up and saw Jefferson wearing nothing but a towel. She quickly brushed pass him, muttering something about his organisation in the house.

* * *

Alice finally found a cookbook in the house, she wondered if it was the only one in the house. She skipped through to the desserts, circling a couple of recipes she checked the ingredients making sure everything she needed was there. Now she just needed to find a mixing bowl.

"What's cookin' good lookin'?"

Alice turned around and saw Jefferson wearing another darkly formal outfit. She blushed at him, before covering up her red cheeks with the book.

"I'm not cooking anything just yet. I'm just preparing everything."

"What're you trying to make?"

"You have your secrets, I have mine."

Jefferson quickly left the room after her answer. Alice lowered the cookbook covering her face and placed it back down on the counter.

"Did he just call me good looking?"

* * *

Jefferson walked down the hallways of his oversized house still trying to comprehend the dream he had. Questions piling up in his head, questioning if he could really trust what he remembered, especially when it came to his memories of Wonderland. He eventually stumbled into his work room, his failed hats neatly displayed on the shelves, Jefferson felt the hats taunt him. He stared at the unfinished one he started on yesterday, he was itching to grab it. Maybe this one would work, or maybe this one will fail like all the other ones, and it would just sit on his shelf collecting dust, as it added to the cacophony of taunts that surrounded him daily.

 _Get it to work._

* * *

"I'm going to burn the house down," Alice said to herself as she preheated the oven, "stop worrying about this, I'm just memory impaired not stupid."

She continued to build up her confidence with using an oven, as she read through the recipe, and followed it as closely as she could.

She continued having a small conversation with herself as she mixed everything together, trying her hardest to convince herself that the house would not burn down while she was using the oven.

She placed the food in the non-flaming oven. Her mind began to wonder where Jefferson went to.

"Best not to find him, he probably just needs some alone time. Me being around is just new to him." She told herself as she headed towards her new room.

* * *

She needed to change her clothes. She had spent the entire night looking at the television, and after that she searched through the house for a cookbook before waking Jefferson up. He seemed to be a little different today, like something was troubling him.

Was it her?

Was she causing to much trouble for him? She could always live in the woods. She started thinking about alternate living options as she undressed, taking her top off first, and trying to undo her bra, it was difficult for her, she couldn't see what she was doing, and she sure as hell didn't have eyes in the back of her head. She stumbled with the last metal clasp before freeing herself from the slightly uncomfortable garment, she still wondered why she had to wear it. Then she took off her pants and flung them on her bed, same with her underpants. Then she went searching through the bags for something to wear on a day like today. It was her room, and she could search for her clothes naked if she wanted to or not. Alice then heard someone or something running down the hallways towards her room. Alice tried to remain calm as the footsteps got closer to her door.

The door then swung open.

To her relief it was not a murderer out to kill her. Jefferson was standing at the doorway his gaze at the floor, she could hear him sniffling, quickly realising she was naked she covered herself with her hands.

"Jefferson!" She cried, "you may have seen me naked before, but that was before I owned clothes. Now I have them, so this is not okay."

He didn't leave though. He just walked closer towards her, Alice froze up with fear, her hands still covered up her more private areas.

Jefferson continued to walk. He made it to her face before finally breaking down into sobs, as he began to hug her, his chin resting on the top of her head.

Feeling awkward, she tried to calm him down as he was making unintelligible noises between the sniffs. She patted his back, as she began to return the embrace.

"Jefferson I need to get changed I'll be a few minutes, can you wait in the kitchen?"

She looked up at and saw him nod before leaving her room. She tried to get dressed as she went down the hallway towards the kitchen, she made it in there still trying to put on her dress.

* * *

She saw Jefferson sitting on a stool by the counter playing with the dirty dishes she left there.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head and continued playing with the dirty spoon.

"Then why did you come into my room while I was was naked and started hugging me?"

He looked up at her before turning all his attention to the spoon, she went to the oven and checked on her food, it was cooking away nicely. She backed away from the oven when something grabbed her waist. She gave out a little giggle, as she felt a pair of lips brush up against her ear.

"When will the hat work?"


End file.
